This time we are going to learn some English!
Here we have three websites:
1. engishcaster.com/bobrob/ The bob and rob show
2. englishcaster.com/blogs/ English idioms and slang
3. www.eslpod.com English as a second language

*how to show interest: oh, really? Wow, cool, sounds great, or sounds…blah, adjective, no way...shut up!!!
#extra word: fuddy-duddy: conservative old fashioned person

*confusing usage of English: HAMburger? TOOTHbrush?? phoneBEETH??? PINEAPPLE???? park in the driveway, drive in the parkway?????
#recommend: bubba show! go check it

*cigarettes=cigs, or fags?
kick my butt=beat me up! (ouch..........)
#fag:cigarettes in UK, but homosexual in US

*skeletons in the closet: hide shameful secret
#sure we have to hide skeletons, if we killed someone, right?

This week, podomatic star will be...............
Mr. Bubble buble'~~~~~~ Michael Buble'!!!
::HOME::

Hope you will like it!!

PS, sooooooory about that it may sounds a bit blur. I forgot to bring home my headphone set, and I had to use my old one, I guess the problem was it! anyway, my voice may sound too sharp. Don't let that hurt you!

Any tool or resource in writing?
In Michelle’s experiences...
* Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English CD-ROM (http://www.longman.com/ldoce/)-----NONE
* Onelook (http://www.onelook.com)----SOME
* Babelfish (http://babelfish.altavista.com/)----SOME
* Google search engine--------A LOT!!!
eg. Babelfish:specific term:老年痴呆症
Is is old age dementia? or just dementia?

Michelle’s other favorites…
*yahoo Taiwan/Google:
-the rate of unemployment
-Do the on-the-job training?(2 votes)
Have the on-the-job training? (0votes)
Undergo the on-the-job training?(at least 10)
*Dr. Eye:
-new terms
-spelling check
-old slang: what is一寸光陰一寸金 and 一不做，二不休 in English?

Little comment from Michelle...
*machines don't have lives!
*recheck it, judge it, and then use it!

This week, the podomatic star is "Westlife"--Seasons in The Sun.
My name is in it~~~~~haha

VIEW, Variation In English words and phrases
How can we use it??
1. Simple example “competition/ contest” [result: therefore, hence, thence, thus
##consequences: therefore, consequently
*throw up [=throw up]
##medicine that will cause vomiting: Emetic, nauseant, vomitive
##matter that will come out when you vomit: Puke, and vomitus
##throw up barf, be sick, cast, cat, chuck, disgorge, purge, regorge, retch, spew, throw up, vomit
3. Distinguish usages problems: destroy/ ruin/ damage
{destroy/ruin/damage} [nn*]
*Destroy “jobs, confidence, enemy, democracy, freedom, friendship, property, death, family, memory…etc”
*Ruin “things, Christmas, party, health, nature, crops, etc”
*Damage “crops, property, cells, survey, health, confidence, liability, rules, human, kidneys, education…etc”
##in health: ruin health, or damage health (not destroy health)
##destroy: heavy words, destroy lives and friendship
##ruin: more like making the atmosphere bad (as in ruin Christmas, ruin parties)
##damage: sometimes it’s a bit like destroy, and it can be used as in Nouns.

This week, our podomatic star is a beautiful man(!!)with angelic voice~ Josh Groban!
Introducing this song to all of you, “Believe”
--believe in what you feel inside and give your dreams the wings to fly!
--you have everything you need if you just BELIEVE!
Let us all believe in ourselves!

*Law terms
-Misdemeanour輕罪—lighter punishment
-subpoenaed傳喚—summoned someone on the court
-verdict 判決—result of a case
-Nothing further—no more questions

*NO
-The percentage will be less there (gentler)
-Not a chance

*Restate our points, make sure
-Don't get me wrong…
-Just so we're clear…

*Speak out the truest feelings: give you the straight dirt
*Say things right through your heart: shot to my center

*Here we go again.
*Give me a break.=Come on.

*Nonsense
-Crap (more powerful!)
-bullshit (cute!)

*cultural evidences
-Unisex: restrooms share by both men and women
-bridging hello to Madison County: starting a forbidden relationship

*favorite passages
-Jason: Lonely people... they have hope. She didn't seem to. She was just... sad. You know, like she knew too much.
Some people find love permanent and some are just meant to be alone. She knew what she was.
-Laura: Things die in men as they get older. They lose the essence of the very thing a woman most wants.
I was celebrating the boy inside him. I was celebrating the boy inside me.

*This week, our podomatic star is "Savage Garden"~ !
and the song is "Crash and Burn"!!
Cherish the friends beside you! hope you'll all like it!!! ^^

Questions:
1. How much do you know about blog reading via RSS?
2. Find a blog you are interested in and describe what it is!

*common blogs
-www.wretch.cc
-MSN SPACE
##block or welcom~you choose!

*RSS= Really Simple syndication
-often used in websites, blogs, podcasts
-track updates

*Future Career
-Flight attendant........no information
-Tour leader...............no information
-travel....www.traveltipsandtricks.com

*Travel
-tips of travel
-planning advice
-recent news
##Disne's 50: wanna go at this crowded time?
##Airbus A380: SRO? stand instead of sit!

This week's podomatic star is ~~~~城市琴人 Daniel Powter, and his song.."Bad Day"
-Sometimes the system goes on the brink
-And the whole thing turns out wrong
-You might not make it back and you know
-That you could be well Oh that strong
-And I'm not wrong
Let us all sing a happy song and turned it all around!!
Enjoy the day ^__________^

Show and Tell
Today I am going to show you two articles of mine. The first one is a letter from Santa Claus. I know it is not the Christmas season, but I’m afraid that I will not have another chance to show you this letter for “show and tell.” So, I’d like to show it to you in this class. I received it when I was still a freshman in university. One of my teachers asked us students to send a Christmas card to Santa Claus, who lives in Finland. She said “Not everyone can get an answer from Santa Claus, if you are lucky enough, you can get one. You can still keep on sending letters to Santa Claus every winter, though.
“I am that lucky person, because I got an answer to the first Christmas card I sent. Now you can look at the postmark, it said “Article Circle Suomi Finland” and the date of the stamp was in 2003. Please pass this around so everyone can take a look.
The second one is a knife from Switzerland. It is very useful for the great outdoors. It was given to me by my uncle a couple years ago. I carry it most of time and use it often when I go camping. As you may know, both the large blade and the small blade can peel the skin off fruit or slice food; this one is a can opener with a small screwdriver. To use this, place the opener on the can so that the hook gets a firm hold on the underside of the tin; then force the cutting-edge into the lid by gently raising the tool handle. You can enjoy many kinds of canned food. After eating you can use the toothpick to clean your teeth. With regard to the tweezers it can be used to pull hair when necessary. The last tool is the screwdriver, which is really convenient and helpful when some things need fixing. And by the way, please remember when putting the tools away to keep your fingers away from the sharp edges. That’s all. Thank you.

Once, there lived a rich merchant and a poor shoemaker in the same house. The merchant occupied the second floor, but the shoemaker lived and worked in a small room on the first floor. The shoemaker was one of the happiest persons on earth and sang merrily as he worked from morning till night. His heart was filled with joy whenever he looked at the boots and shoes to be repaired. Now, the merchant upstairs was so rich that he hardly knew how much wealth he had. He always worriedly counted over his gold and silver coins, far into the night. Even in bed, uneasiness over his riches kept him awake. When at last he had fallen asleep for an hour or two, up would come the singing of the happy shoemaker, who was an early riser, and continue throughout the day. This troubled the merchant day after day, until he grew more and more tired from lack of sleep. So he asked a wise friend of his how he could put an end to the shoemaker's singing. "Well, if I were you, I would give the shoemaker a hundred pounds," answered his friend. "You are rich enough to do that, I suppose. Ask for nothing in return. Simply give the money." The merchant readily followed the advice.
When the shoemaker opened the bag that had been sent by the merchant, he was amazed to find shining coins. "I must hide this from the eyes of my neighbors. If they see it, they will think that I have stolen it," he thought. "I will keep it away even from my wife." So he hid the bag of money under the floor and from then on avoided his neighbors as much as he could. His wife, who had been the best companion to him, became troublesome now that his mind was too much set on the money bag to attend to his work with diligence. He could not sing merrily now. Whenever he thought of the money bag, he would become uneasy and unhappy. At length one day his wife said to him in tears, "Dear husband, what makes you so sad and uneasy? All our neighbors say that you have changed. I wish you were as good and gentle as before." He felt so sorry that he told her everything. "We were happy before the merchant gave us the money," said his wife when she heard the story. "We have good health. We have plenty of work to do. What more do we need? Send the money back to the merchant and the happy life that was once ours will return to us." The shoemaker agreed and went to the merchant to return the bag of money. "Sir," he said, "let me return this to you. By giving this to me, you have spoiled my happy and easy life. I want to have it back and so am returning your present." Merry song was again heard all over the house. He was once again as happy as he had ever been.

Hello, Taiwan! And welcome to the launch of Windows Vista and 2007 Office System. Tonight marks the culmination of the most important launches in Microsoft history, and the beginning of a new era of powerful connected experiences.

With Windows Vista and 2007 Offices System, it will be easier than ever to create and access digital content and participate in online communities. Communications will be richer and more convenient. You'll be able to access all kinds of entertainment from television to video games, music and movies, according to your own schedule. These new versions of Windows and Office also deliver improvements in family safety to help parents make sure their children are safe online. New security features will help consumers protect private information so they can share experiences, shop on line, and have more fun using their PC's, with greater confidence.

Windows Vista will provide the platform for technologies that will give us instant access to our digital lifestyle, no matter where we are. We'll communicate with people we care about in ways that are most convenience to us. And it will be as easy to create digital content as it is to consume it. Taiwan has been a vital part of making these new experiences possible. There's an amazing amount of innovation in the PC 's and mobile devices coming from Taiwan. Because you are such an important global leader in innovation, we have based two of our key, strategic, industry-collaborative ventures here, the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference and the Windows Media Engineering center.

So I would like to thank all of you for the important role you play in helping us bring these products to market. We look forward to continuing to work with all of our great partners in Taiwan. One way to show our appreciation is through our commitment to local communities, through programs like Partners In Learning and Unlimited Potential, we support local organizations that provide training in the technology skills that are critical in the knowledge economy.

It is our privilege to support these efforts by donating software and training through volunteer efforts from Taiwan Microsoft employees. These are just a few examples of our long-term commitment in Taiwan to customers, to partners, and to the community. Thank you for joining us at this launch celebration. And thanks to everyone in Taiwan for the important role you've played in making this day possible.

The feeling is widespread among English teachers in Taiwan, that despite efforts made by the government and educational authorities, the English skills of Taiwanese students have been declining from year to year.
This feeling has been substantiated by the students' scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Statistics from the Educational Testing Service (ETS), which administers the test, have repeatedly shown that Taiwanese test takers' scores are inferior to those achieved by those from most other Asian countries. Even the candidates from third-world countries like Vietnam and Afghanistan have done better.
This situation is disgraceful, given the emphasis that the government has placed on improving English education in local schools and the huge amounts of resources devoted to carrying out the government policy.
One of the chief factors behind our students' failure to achieve proficiency in English is the backward teaching method used in the island's schools. In most of the island's classrooms, English is taught as an academic discipline rather than a communicative skill. Students are required to memorize words and grammatical rules but are given few opportunities to practice using the language in real-life situations.
Another factor is the shortage of qualified teachers, a problem that's especially acute in the island's rural areas.

Beebie and the Tortoise
One lovely morning Beebie was relaxing by the potting shed.
All of a sudden, a tortoise appeared wearing a pair of very smart running shoes.
"Hello, I'm Tom," said the tortoise.
"Would you like to have a race?"
"Oh yes please, but I'm very fast," said Beebie as she got ready to run.
"Ok, ready, steady, get your…" but before the tortoise could finish,
Beebie had hopped off. "Wait!" shouted Tom. But it was too late.
Beebie had already sped up the hill.
"I'll have to catch up with her," thought Tom.
When Beebie reached the top of the hill she saw something whiz past her.
"What was that?" thought Beebie.
Suddenly, she heard Tom calling to her from the other side of the
hill. "Beebie where are you?"
"I'm on top of the hill," she shouted.
When Beebie caught sight of Tom race back over the hill to meet her,
she was amazed by what she saw.
"Tom you're on a bike!" she exclaimed.
"That's what I was trying to tell you. I wanted a bike race!" laughed Tom.
But as he spoke his bike whooshed out of control. Tom went crashing
into the shed!
"Oh Tom are you alright?" called Beebie.
"I'm fine. I have my lovely hard shell to protect me," he replied.
"But look at my bike. It has broken in half."
Beebie offered to help fix Tom's bicycle.
So they set about mending it with some tools. But when they had
finished the bike seemed longer than it had been before.
Then Tom had a good idea. "Why don't we add another seat to your
bicycle?" he asked.
So they decided to add another seat.
"There," said Beebie, "a bicycle made for two.
"First you have to wear this," said Tom, as he handed her a cycling
helmet. "I don't have a spare tortoise shell to protect you."
"Thank you," said Beebie.
With that they got on their bicycle made for two and cycled away!